Nick Hakim | Mon 12 Feb | Hare & Hounds | £11
DC soul singer Nick Hakim turned heads last year with his debut album ‘Green Twins’ – a mesmerizing, mutating trip through vintage soul and modern patchwork production. Patient, slow-burning, but bursting with life and groove, Hakim’s songs are cocoons of sound, all held together by one entrancing voice. skiddle.com

Iron & Wine | Tue 13 Feb | Symphony Hall | From £21.50
Some fifteen years into his career as Iron & Wine, Sam Beam has come full circle: his most recent album ‘Beast Epic’ sees him returning to the stripped-back instrumentation of his early work – music that helped shift the whole realm of indie rock into folkier territory in the early 2000s. It’s gorgeous and irresistible, of course, and nothing short of what you’d expect from such a masterful songwriter. thsh.com

Bonfire Radicals | Thu 15 Feb | Birmingham Conservatoire | £12
Birmingham folk act Bonfire Radicals are one-of-a-kind: a raucous blend of world music, jazz, psych and swing, a towering Jenga of ideas that looks like it’ll collapse at any moment, but hangs together through sheer force of will and infectious joy. Definitely the most otherworldly take on classical folk tunes that’ll make you question your sanity this week. bcu.ac.uk

SOLD OUT: Jen Cloher | Fri 16 Feb | Hare & Hounds
Melbourne singer-songwriter Jen Cloher released her fourth – and best – album in 2017, a darkly shimmering, beautiful record: fearless in its exploration of self, everyday and quitely confident, yet atmospheric, ambitious and grand in its execution. Small wonder that a whole bunch of people seemed to fall in love with her last year. www.skiddle.com

Mutes | Fri 16 Feb | Dark Horse | FREE
Mutes are the kind of chaotic, gluttonous alternative rock music that Birmingham specialises in: bursting at the seams with corroded guitar noise, pointed in its sonic attack. Their debut album ‘No Desire’ was one of the best things to come out of the Second City last year: if you haven’t treated yourself to some Mutes yet, go get sweaty and unruffled at the Dark Horse – for free, no less. See our full preview here.

Youth Man & Cassels | Sat 17 Feb | Actress & Bishop | £8
Speaking of Brum’s grungey noise-rock scene, you’ll probably have heard tales of Youth Man, the lethal afropunk trio who make a heady, corrosive cacophony that’ll burn the insides of your eardrums to cinders. The band one-upped themselves again with their critically-acclaimed ‘Wax’ EP, but there’s little doubt that this relentless punk onslaught is best experienced live. seetickets.com

The Orielles | Sun 20 Feb | Hare & Hounds | £8
Stepped in indie-rock fandom, you can hear the echo of the famous C86 roster in the Orielles’ garage-racket; and the DIY surf-poppers have a charming Breeders minimalism to their dreamy indie jams – all VHS-fuzz, casually acerbic one-liners, and Jonny Marr guitar jangle. The Orielles sound like they’re either from another time, or just another world where ‘Freaks and Geeks’ was made in Halifax. seetickets.com